Meanwhile, South of the Border…

With everything else going on, it’s hard to pay attention to Latin America, where recent developments are generally ominous, with leftist candidates doing well in elections across much of South America. Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Bolivia’s Evo Morales have signed a triple alliance among the three far-left leaders that is designed to counter American influence in the region. One of the many unfortunate consequences of the current oil shortage is that Chavez may use his country’s swollen oil revenues to prop up Castro, thereby extending the old tyrant’s seemingly endless reign.

Chavez, meanwhile, has been trying to bully Peruvians into electing leftist Ollanta Humala (misspelled “Hulama” in the linked Reuters report) as president in the run-off election to be held in May or June, rather than Alan Garcia, whom Chavez calls a “corrupt” “thief” and “scoundrel.” Chavez wants to add Peru to his existing triple alliance. Reuters has video coverage of the situation in Peru, including footage of an anti-Chavez demonstration in Lima, at Power Line Video.

In quieter times, Latin America’s worsening political condition would have been a major concern. Now, it’s mostly overlooked, by the public, at least.